Christa Welger

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Christa Welger
A smiling young woman with short hair, tousled by wind outdoors
Christa Welger, from a 1962 publication
Personal information
Birth nameChrista E. Zander
National team United States  West Germany
BornJune 1939
Berlin
DiedMay 30, 2019
New Jersey
OccupationAthlete
Years active1958-1963
Spouse
Saul Welger
​
​
(m. 1962; died 2002)​
Sport
Country United States  West Germany

Christa Zander Welger (June 1939 – May 30, 2019) was a German-born wheelchair athlete. She represented West Germany and later the United States in various international events.

Early life[edit]

Christa Zander was raised in Berlin during World War II, and then in West Berlin after the city was partitioned. She was paralyzed by polio at a young age,[1][2] and developed physical strength in sports, including swimming and field events.

Career[edit]

As a young woman, Zander belonged to the Handicapped Sports League of Berlin, and worked in a factory.[3] She represented West Germany at the 1958 and 1959 Stoke Mandeville Games. She won eight medals at the 1960 Summer Paralympic Games in Rome. As Christa Welger, she represented the United States as a swimmer and field athlete at the Stoke Mandeville Games in 1962,[4][5] and at 1964 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo,[6] where she won a gold medal and three silver medals.[2] She also competed at the National Wheelchair Games in 1963. She was inducted into the Adaptive Sports USA Hall of Fame in 1986.[7]

Personal life and legacy[edit]

Zander married American accountant and wheelchair athlete Saul Welger in 1962, and moved to New York to live with him.[8][9] They had two children, born in 1966 and 1970. She was widowed when Saul died in 2002; she died in 2019. After her death, the Christa & Saul Welger Foundation was established, to continue their work in supporting sports opportunities for physically disabled youth.[10]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Wheelchair Romance Inspires Sports Festival". Hawaii Tribune-Herald. 1962-02-28. p. 6. Retrieved 2021-07-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ a b "5 Paralympic Medals Won by Boro Pair". Daily News. 1964-12-22. p. 409. Retrieved 2021-07-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Wheelchair Romance". Recreation Management: 24. March 1962 – via Internet Archive.
  4. ^ "U.S. Wheelchair Athletes Pace International Games". The New York Times. July 26, 1962. p. 20 – via ProQuest.
  5. ^ "U.S. Takes Archery Honors At World Paraplegic Meet". The New York Times. July 28, 1962. p. 36 – via ProQuest.
  6. ^ Machado, Carl (1964-11-04). "Paralympians are a Hit". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. p. 36. Retrieved 2021-07-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Awards & Recognition: Hall of Fame". Adaptive Sports USA. Archived from the original on 2017-09-11. Retrieved 2021-07-28.
  8. ^ Davis, David (2020-08-25). Wheels of Courage: How Paralyzed Veterans from World War II Invented Wheelchair Sports, Fought for Disability Rights, and Inspired a Nation. Center Street. ISBN 978-1-5460-8462-4.
  9. ^ Little, Jan (1996). If it weren't for the honor--I'd rather have walked : previously untold tales of the journey to the ADA. Internet Archive. Cambridge, Mass. : Brookline Books. p. 132. ISBN 978-1-57129-026-7.
  10. ^ "Christa and Saul Welger Foundation". Retrieved 2021-07-28.
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